*** Official Michigan Football 2007 Thread ***

NozeCandy · #1 07-30-2007, 09:26 PM

Alright, the season starts in a month and I cannot effing wait. Bump this as necessary.

The schedule this year is full of highs and lows. A I-AA team to start (the defending national champ, but still), followed by Oregon, Notre Dame, and Penn State in succession. 6 relative cakewalks (should be, at least)in Northwestern, Eastern Michigan, Purdue, Illinois, Minnesota, and Michigan State precede the final two tough games with Wisconsin and OSU. Certainly doable, but by no means easy.

Two big events today:

1. Michigan extends contract to play ND through 2031. Jesus Christ, that is a ridiculously long time. I guess it means we should have a solid OOC opponent for a long time, but I wouldn't have minded a little more variety in the UM schedule in the next 25 years. Oh well.

2. Sam McGuffie committed to Michigan. He is the #1 ranked All-Purpose back for the class of 2008 and looks sick. Check out this video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=x4IJ17ODo_s

Anyway, any discussion of this or any new topics would be great. Go Blue, baby.

DVaut1 · #2 07-30-2007, 10:09 PM

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6 relative cakewalks (should be, at least)in Northwestern, Eastern Michigan, Purdue, Illinois, Minnesota, and Michigan State precede the final two tough games with Wisconsin and OSU.

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This game is by no means a cake walk. Zook can't coach but he might be the best recruiter in the country; it's a resurgent Illini team, the game is on the road and it's at night. This game frankly terrifies me.

The schedule does set up nice -- about as well as you could ask -- but for some reason, the season is eerily reminiscent of the 2000 season: we had a high powered offense with Henson, A-train and Terrell, but a questionable defense, and we ended up losing 3 games by a combined 7 points -- all of the games we lost were a bunch of shootouts (recall the stomach-wrenching 54-51 loss to Northwestern) because the defense couldn't hold a lead. At least we don't have to go to the West Coast in September this season.

Go Blue

damaniac · #3 07-30-2007, 11:30 PM

I was going to say we should do conference threads instead, ie Big Ten thread, since this could get cluttered come fall with several team threads, not to mention the NFL, baseball playoffs, etc. So if anyone has thoughts on that, please share.

That said, I'm not scared of Illinois. I understand they will be better than last year. But their talent it still very young, they are still coached by Zook, and their QB was god-awful last year. I mean, 39% completion percentage? He only averaged 3.7 per rush, too (counts sacks). Hey, they could turn out to be good/scary, but so could Morelli, and I'm not going to start worrying just because something might happen, without more.

The lack of good QB's is going to be our saving grace. Hopefully Donovan Bailey is starting over Johnny Sears sooner rather than later, as I'd hate to lose a game before Lloyd pulls the upperclassman.

Lastly, pray to God/Jesus/Allah that Lloyd and DeBord don't go into a shell. You can't score too many points, guys. This is my fear, that we are not optimally designed for the coaching. We tend to coach like we have a great D and good running game, whether we do or not. The running game should be there, the D, not so much. We'll need points and lots of 'em, and I'm not confident at all that we'll maximize the potential here.

Still, 10-2 is the bare minimum for success (and we have to beat ND and OSU).

TalkingDonkey · #4 07-30-2007, 11:36 PM

Zook = Bill Self of NCAA football?

TalkingDonkey · #5 07-30-2007, 11:39 PM

Oh, and if Ryan Mallett doesn't redshirt this year I'm going to set Lloyd's office on fire. Kind of crazy that the kid (barring injury) is probably going to be Michigan's 3rd 4-year starting QB in a row.

damaniac · #6 07-30-2007, 11:49 PM

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Oh, and if Ryan Mallett doesn't redshirt this year I'm going to set Lloyd's office on fire. Kind of crazy that the kid (barring injury) is probably going to be Michigan's 3rd 4-year starting QB in a row.

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I think it's pretty likely that he doesn't. And, I'd be fine with that IF he gets a lot of snaps AND they let him throw a lot. If his stat line at year's end reads something like 13-20, 152 yards, 1 TD, I'm going to be angry. But if we get him in for say an entire half against App State, EMU, and one or two B10 teams (and maybe 3 quarters against ND, don't want to run it up too much, after all), then I think it will be worth it. Getting reps is very important to developing as a QB.

barryc83 · #7 07-30-2007, 11:52 PM

big10 football. L-O-L.

NozeCandy · #8 07-30-2007, 11:55 PM

I'm not really worried about Illinois at all. They've gotten a lot of buzz, but it's all because of last year's recruiting and I guess a bit because of Juice. I haven't heard anything about their defense and I just don't think any of the 2nd-tier Big 10 teams will be able to score with us. Give them a year.

NozeCandy · #9 07-31-2007, 12:04 AM

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big10 football. L-O-L.

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Just go away. We lost the 2 biggest bowl games in a not so great fashion last year; we get it.

TalkingDonkey · #10 07-31-2007, 12:05 AM

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big10 football. L-O-L.

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please, UM may win more games this year than Bama does the next 2.